Following My Dream
by jewel7325
Summary: After a year and a half of marriage, Bella finds her husband in bed with another woman. She files for divorce and after talking to her parents and best friend, she decides to follow her dream. Her dream is to move to Nashville, Tenn. to become a famous country singer. Follow her as she meets famous country singer Edward Cullen and a bunch of new and exciting people. All Human
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

I know I should be working on my other story 16 and Pregnant. It's been a long time since I've updated it. I'm in the middle of working on the update and it will be posted soon. I have a short story I wrote for a Creative Writing class when I was going to school. I changed the names and some of the character descriptions to accommodate the Twilight characters. I'm working on expanding the story from an almost 7,000 word story to a 20,000-30,000 word story. I hope everyone enjoys this story. It will be rated M because of future lemons. Please review. I really enjoy reading everyone's thoughts. Just be respectful and not mean.

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own any of the Twilight characters or settings. They belong to Stephenie Meyer.

Following My Dream

Chapter 1

Hello, my name is Bella. I am 28 years old. I am 5'4", I weight around a 120 pounds. I have long mahogany hair and dull chocolate brown eyes. I was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona. My parents still live in Tucson. As for me, I am about to embark on a terrifying and exciting journey. I am leaving Tucson to move to Nashville, Tennessee. I have decided to throw caution to the wind and follow my dream.

My dream since I was a little girl has been to become a famous country music singer. The reason why I have decided to move from the only home I have ever known to follow my dream is because I am going through a divorce. I got married a year and a half ago to who I thought was the love of my life. Well it turns out that the man I married is not the love of my life. He and I started having problems in our marriage about a year after we got married. I had a feeling that he was cheating on me but I could never prove it.

My suspicions were confirmed when I came home one Friday night from having dinner with my parents. I found my husband in bed with another woman. I was devastated when I found them in bed together. I do not understand what when wrong in our marriage for him to go looking to someone else. Sure we had disagreements and we fought sometimes about money, his laziness, and his video gaming all the time, but most couples do have disagreements and fight. We got along way more than we fought. I thought we were happy.

I spent the entire weekend crying and feeling sorry for myself. When Monday morning came, I pulled myself together and got on the phone with a divorce lawyer having divorce papers filed. It was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do in my life. When I married my husband it was supposed to have been forever. I never imagined I would be filing for divorce.

It has been four months since I filed for divorce. During those four months I spent a large amount of time talking with my parents and my best friend about what I should do. They told me the same thing. Even though they do not want to see me leave, they feel that it is best for me to leave and follow my dreams. They feel that moving and starting over with my life would be the best thing I could do for myself.

My family and best friend are so supportive and without their support and love I do not think I would be able to take this leap of faith and move. I started packing up everything I brought into my marriage and divided everything else up equally. My family and friends were great; they came over every day to help me pack so I could leave within a week.

It is Saturday at six in the morning, I am sitting in my car looking at the house I shared with my soon to be ex-husband. Everything that I brought with me into the marriage has been packed up and put in a moving van. My husband and I split everything that we bought for the house and everything we received as gifts in half. All of those items have been packed up and loaded in the moving van too. I have a suitcase and a carry-on bag packed and in the trunk of my car, a cooler with bottled water and soda, a bag with snacks, and a pet carrier with my cat all loaded in the back seat of my car.

The moving van left a couple of hours ago to get a head start on the trip to Nashville. My family and best friend came over last night for a going away party. My husband left and spent the night with his new girlfriend. All of my goodbyes were said as everyone was leaving last night. The only person I have not said good bye to was my husband.

I was hoping that he would at least come home to say goodbye to me. I guess I really do mean that little to him. Oh well, I cannot think of that now. I take one last look at the house and start my car. I slowly back out of the driveway on the street. I take one last look at the house and drive away. I am sad to be leaving my family and my best friend, but the sadness soon diminishes and thoughts of a new and exciting life fill my head, and I cannot wait to begin my journey.

Nashville, here I come.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own any of the Twilight characters or settings. They belong to Stephenie Meyer.

Chapter 2

It has been seven long days of travel, but I am finally in Nashville, Tennessee. My original plan was to drive eight hours a day so it would take me three days to reach Nashville but my trip did not turn out that way. I had a few mishaps along the way.

The first mishap happened 10 minutes after leaving New Mexico and entering Texas. I stopped at a diner off the highway to get something to eat. When I went to pay, I discovered that my money had been stolen. To say I was freaked out was an understatement. I had an envelope inside my purse that contained the money I had saved up for the move. The waitress noticed my distress and asked me if I was okay. I told her what happened and I asked her if it would be ok for me to go check my car in case the money fell out. She walked with me out to my car and I looked everywhere for it. The money was gone. Someone must have seen me pull out the envelope and take money out of it and put it back in my purse. I had to have been so distracted that the money was taken right out of my purse without even noticing. The waitress and I walked back into the diner to talk to the manager. The manager of the diner put me to work washing dishes, taking out garbage and other odds and ends until I made enough money to pay for the food I ate. Once I was finished paying back the diner, I called my parents and told them what happened. I got the address to the local Western Union and they sent me all of the money that was stolen plus an extra two thousand dollars. After thanking them profusely and telling them how much I love them, I hung up and went to the Western Union to collect the money. I still had a few hours of driving I could do, but after what happened I decided to find a hotel and stop for the night.

The second mishap happened in the middle of Arkansas. I had been driving through one of the towns getting back on the highway after stopping for gas and something to eat when I went to make a right turn and my steering quit working. To say I was scared to death was an understatement. I stopped the car and put on my flashers. I called a local mechanic and had my car towed to his shop. After the mechanic looked at my car, he determined that a piece on my steering had broken and needed to be replaced. He checked to see if he had the part I needed for my car. He ended up not having that part so he called around to other mechanics and auto stores, but they were all out. The mechanic came back and told me that he would have to order the part. I told him to go ahead and order it. He ordered the part but told me that it would be a day before the part would get here. The mechanic arranged for one of his employees to give me a ride to a hotel. He told me he would call me when the car was finished, and he would have an employee pick me up at the hotel. Late afternoon the next day I was back on the road on my way to Nashville.

The third and final mishap happened when I got into Tennessee and I was driving through the Smokey Mountains. I was driving up a steep hill when my car overheated. I managed to make it up the hill and down the other side and onto a pull off. I sat there until my car cooled off and tried to drive it again. I had driven a few miles when the car started overheating again. I sighed and pulled off the road. After banging my head against the steering wheel once, I called a tow service. My car was towed to a local mechanic. The mechanic looked at my car and told me that my radiator was broken and that I needed a new one. He called around to other mechanics and found one right away. I paid for it, and it was delivered a few hours later. I got really mad when the mechanic told me that the part was here, but he did not have time to work on my car that day and that I would have to stay the night somewhere. He did not offer me a ride to a hotel or a ride from the hotel to his shop. I had to call a cab to pick me up. It was late afternoon the next day and I still had not heard from the mechanic so I called him. He told me that he started working on the radiator, but he would not have time to finish it until the next day. I had to stay another night. All I could think to myself was that at least this one happened in Tennessee. It was in the afternoon the next day when I finally got the call that my car was ready. I called a cab, checked out of my hotel, and picked up my car. I was once again on my way to Nashville.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:**

I hope you are enjoying this story. This story seems to be getting more and more favorites. I'd really like to read what you all think, so please review. Edward will be introduced soon. He will appear either in Chapter 4 or 5. I can't decide how I want to end Chapter 4 yet.

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own Twilight, the characters, or original settings. Stephenie Meyer does.

Chapter 3

It was after six in the evening on Saturday when I finally got to Nashville. Boy was I excited to finally get here. I do not think I have been so excited in my life. I followed the directions I had to the small house I would be renting. I saw the house while looking online trying to find a place to live while I was still living in Tucson. As soon as I saw the house and all of the pictures, I knew that was the house I wanted to rent. While looking at the pictures online I called the owner on my cell phone. I spent about an hour on the phone with the owner talking about the house and all the features. I have my future landlord my address so he could send me the rental contract. I signed the contract and sent a money order for the deposit and rent for the first month. Right before I left Tucson, I called my landlord and got the information I needed to have the water and utilities transferred into my name. I called those places and had everything put in my name, and now I'm finally here.

I pulled into the driveway and went up to the door. I held my breath as I unlocked the door and stepped into my new house for the first time. It was a cute small two bedroom two bathroom house. The first thing I noticed is that all of my boxes have been delivered already. I just hope that the delivery drivers put them in the appropriate rooms. Since I only saw pictures of the house online, I decided to take a quick tour of the house. To say I was pleasantly surprised was an understatement. The pictures did not do the house justice.

When I walked into the house, I noticed that I was standing in a small foyer. The walls in the foyer were tan and the floor looked to be linoleum. The Linoleum was white with swirls of beige. On the right wall is a small coat closet. The room I can see from the foyer is the living room. The living room has white walls and beautiful hardwood floors. It looked to me as if the owners of the house had the floor waxed recently. On the right side of the wall behind me is a huge picture window that overlooks my front yard and the quiet street. The living room is not that big, but it is big enough to fit my furniture. In front of me is an archway that leads to the next room, a hallway that goes off to the left, and a hallway that goes off to the right. I go to the room with the archway and discover that it is a good size eat-in kitchen. There are lot of cabinets and a lot of counter space for me to cook on. The kitchen looks like it was recently updated. It has a Tuscan feel to it with the beautiful hardwood floors, the granite countertops, and the beautiful Italian murals painted on the walls. Over on the wall by the empty area where the table and chairs will go is a door that leads out to the back yard. I walk over to the door and open it. I step onto the large deck that over-looks a spacious backyard that is fenced in. I walk back into the house and walk out of the kitchen and head down the hallway on the right. I come to a large room that is supposed to be the master bedroom. I walk into the room and again there are beautiful hardwood floors and tan walls. There are two doors on one of the walls. I walk to the one closest to the bedroom door that leads to the hallway. I open the door to find a huge walk-in closet. I am in absolute heaven. I was hoping that the master would have a large walk-in closet, and it does. I close the closet door and go to the next door. This door is to the nice en-suit bathroom. The bathroom is not that big, but it is a good size for me. The floors are pretty light blue linoleum, and the walls are painted a blue that is a shade darker. White has been used as an accent color around the room. I walk back out to the living room to take a look down the other hallway. There are four doors in that hallway. I open the first one to find a linen closet. The second door is a sliding door that houses the washer and dryer hook-ups. I open the third door, which turns out to be the second bathroom. The second bathroom is a decent size which will be good for guests. I open the fourth door, which is the second bedroom. The second bedroom is a decent size and will make a good guest bedroom home office combination. The floors are the beautiful hardwood, and the walls are tan. Over all I feel very happy with the house. I am going to call the landlord tomorrow to talk to him about changing some paint colors and to see if he will allow me to plant a small garden and some flowers.

I am starving so I decide to get back in my car and find some place to go eat. I am driving around looking for somewhere to eat that sounds interesting when I see a place called The Saloon. I pull into the parking lot and notice that there is an advertisement for open mic nights on the weekend. I decided to park my car and get out seeing if I can get some information about the open mic nights. I walk into the bar and take a look around me. The bar is large inside and dimly lit. To my left is a long bar that looks like it sits about twenty people. Five of the seats at the bar are taken.

There is one man and one woman standing behind the bar talking to the five customers. The woman is a small pixie of a girl. She doesn't looks to be around my age. She's probably around 5'1. She's got short spiky black hair. She's just a tiny thing. She's wearing a pink cowgirl looking shirt with a tank underneath. The buttons are undone and the bottom is tied above her navel. She's wearing a short denim skirt with pink accents. I'm not sure about her shoes because he's behind the bar. She looks over towards me and from what I can tell; it seems she has green eyes. She whispers something to the guy behind the bar with her and turns back to her customers to continue to fill their orders.

I look over towards the guy and notice he's watching me. He also looks to be around my age. He might be a few years older. He's tall with shaggy blond hair and it looks to be blue eye. He has a lean but muscular body. He's very handsome. He's wearing a flannel shirt and some tight blue jeans. I have no idea what kind of shoes he's wearing since he's behind the bar.

I quit watching them to continue looking around the bar. To my right I noticed small stage, and an open area that I assume is the dance floor. The stage must be where the open mic is held. The walls in front of me and behind me are lined with booths and scattered randomly are small round tables that have four chairs at each one. Two of the booths in front of me are taken with what looks like two sets of couples. I feel a touch of excitement when I notice that the people in the booths are eating. My stomach growls so I make my way to the bar and sit down. I have chosen a seat that is separated from the others sitting at the bar. I just sat down when the woman behind the bar skips over to me with a huge smile on her face.

"Well hello there stranger! Welcome to The Saloon! My name's Alice and your new here." She says excitedly.

Smiling, I reach my hand out to shake Alice's hand, "Hi Alice, thank you for the welcome. I'm Bella and yes I'm new here. I just moved to the area today."

Looking over at the man at the other end of the bar, Alice yells, "Hey Jazz! Come and meet the new customer!"

Smiling the guy walks toward Alice and the new girl, "Well hello there ma'am. My name is Jasper Whitlock and you've met my wife Alice. We are the owners of this fine establishment."

Smiling and shaking Jasper's hand, "Hi I'm Bella. I just moved here today."

"Well welcome to Nashville! Where are you from?" asks Alice while setting down a menu.

Reaching for the menu, I reply, "I'm from Tucson, Az."

"Oh heavens, what in the world made you move all the way out here?" asks Alice bewildered

Not ready to tell strangers my life story I just reply with, "Oh I decided to move to Nashville to start my life over. I had to get away so I decided to chase my dream of becoming a country singer by moving here."

"Have you decided what you wanted?" asks Alice.

"Yes, I'll have a cheeseburger, fries, and a beer please." I reply.

"I'll put this in for you," Says Alice.

Jasper looks at me and says, "So you want to become a country singer. Are you any good?"

Replying uncomfortably, "Umm I'm not sure. I've never sang in front of anyone before."

Curiously Jasper says, "Really? Well I don't know if you noticed on your way in but on the window is a flyer that advertises open mic nights on the weekends. You can always sign up for one and give singing a try. We usually have a pretty good turn-out. One of our regulars was even discovered here a few years ago. So if you're good enough, you just might get discovered"

Smiling I say, "Thanks, I'll think about it."

Jasper smiles and pats my hand before turning to head to the other side of the bar.

Alice comes back with my food ten minutes later and sets it in front of me with a bottle of catsup and my beer.

Excitedly Alice asks, "So you want to become a country singer huh? Well I'm sure Jasper's already talked to you about open mic night. I hope you decided to sign up for one of them. I bet you are a wonderful singer. We were supposed to have it this weekend but the equipment is going to be replaced. Oh darn, I've got to go! Some customers just sat down. I hope you enjoy your food and if you need anything else, just ask. Here's your bill, I'll take it when you're ready. It was great meeting you Bella. I hope to see you in here again real soon."

I smile as Alice skips away. Jasper and Alice sure are friendly. I think I just made my first set of friends here. I start eating my food with exuberance. Wow this food is amazing, and it is just a cheeseburger and fries. After I am done and the bill is paid, I head for home so I can get a good night sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:**

So there you have it. Bella meets Edward. Let me what you all thought. I don't think there's going to be an update tomorrow. There are a few changes I want to make to the 5th chapter. I'm not sure if I will get it finished in time to post. I'd work on it now but I'm extremely tired. I just wanted to finish this chapter up. I hope everyone is enjoying this story.

**Disclaimer: **

I do not own Twilight, the characters, or original settings. Stephenie Meyer does.

Chapter 4

A week has passed since I went to The Saloon. I have got my house unpacked, and the rooms are set-up. Since it was Saturday evening, I shower, change my clothes, and head to The Saloon to check out open mic night. By the time I get to the bar, the place is packed. I go in and find one seat at the bar. I look around for Alice and Jasper but I do not see them anywhere. I wave the bartender down and order a beer. After I get my beer and pay for it, I turn my chair around and face the stage. That is when I notice Alice and Jasper. They are setting up the stage for the open mic night. I drink my beer and patiently wait for the entertainment to begin. Twenty minutes later everything is set up and Alice is at the mic welcoming everyone and announcing the first singer of the night. The night wore on and I only talked to Alice and Jasper a little bit. They both have been really busy with the customers and introducing each singer. Overall I have been impressed by the open mic night. There have been some amazing singers and some not so good singers that have performed so far. Before I know it, the last singer is about to be announced. The guy waiting by the stage looks familiar but I cannot tell who it is. Alice gets on the stage to introduce the next performer.

"I know yawl have been have been anxiously waiting for the star of the show! Well here he is! Our, very own Edward Cullen!"

My mouth drops open and my eyes bug out. Oh my, gosh! I cannot believe he is performing here of all places. I cannot wait to text my best friend in AZ. She is going to be so jealous that I get to see Edward Cullen perform at a local bar.

Alice smiles widely as she skips over to me. She grabs me in a huge bear hug and ruffles my hair.

"So how are you enjoying the show?" She winks.

"Oh my, gosh how in the world were you able to get Edward Cullen to perform here?" I asked in amazement.

Giggling, Alice says, "Well Jasper and I have known Jackson for a long time now. He's actually my older brother and Jasper's best friend. He was performing here on an open mic night when he was discovered by Mr. Volturi from Sundown Records. Stick around after everyone leaves for the night and I'll introduce you to him. Edward always stays so we can have a few drinks and to catch up."

All I can do is nod in response and I turn back toward the stage to watch Edward on stage.

During Edward's performance, he somehow caught my eye when he was looking around the room. From that moment, he continued to look my way for the rest of the show. Every time he looked at me the butterflies would start up in my stomach and I could feel my face grow hot when he would smile his beautiful bright smile or when he would wink at me. I was completely mesmerized by him. I could not take my eyes off him. I wish my divorce was finalized already. That thought kind of surprised me. I left Arizona knowing I was not ready get into another relationship yet, but for some reason the thought of being in a relationship with Edward made me happy and my heart sing.

It was the end of the show and last call has been announced. Alice, Jasper, the bartenders, and the waitresses where cleaning up for the night. After everything was cleaned up and the bartenders and waitress left for the night, Edward came out from somewhere in the back. Alice and Jasper were setting up a few shots and setting out beers. I watched as Edward headed right in my direction.

Smiling brightly, Edward approaches me and says, "Hi I'm Edward, you are?"

Smiling shyly, I reply, "I'm Bella"

Taking my hand, Edward brings it up to his lips and looks in my eyes. "Well it's very nice to meet you Bella." Edward winks at me and kisses my hand.

With the butterflies in over drive and a blush on my face, I look down at the floor and then up to his eyes. I respond, "It's very nice to meet you to. You were terrific up there on stage. I love your music."

Smiling, Edward says, "I'm so glad you enjoyed it. Do you mind if I sit here so we can talk?"

Smiling, I reply, "Sure go ahead."

Edward sits down and we fall into an easy conversation. I have no idea what has come over me. I feel this energy, this pull towards him. I've never felt this way about anyone before, not even my soon to be ex-husband. Edward is sweet and so funny. I have never felt so comfortable around someone in my life. We talk about anything and everything. I talk about Arizona, my family, my husband, my upcoming divorce, what lead to the divorce, my likes, dislikes, and my dream of becoming a country singer. In return, we talk about him and his life before country music, and life after country music. We talk about why he is still single, and about his family. It warms my heart when he talks about his family. He loves them so much especially Alice. There is not a subject we do not discuss. By the time we finish talking, I notice that Alice and Jasper are nowhere in sight. I look down at the bar a few seats away, and there is a note with a key. Edward picks up the note and lets me know that Alice and Jasper left for the evening. They did not want to disturb us because we were hitting it off so well. They left a key for Edward to use so he can close up the bar when we were finished. I looked at the clock and notice how late it is.

Sighing sadly, "Well I guess it's time to go."

Edward walks up to me. He gives me a bear hug and kisses me on the cheek. He takes his hand and rubs my cheek with the back of his hand and looks deeply into my eyes. "I had a really good time tonight. I hope we can do this again soon." He says softly.

I close my eyes and whisper, "Me too."

We exchange phone numbers and hug one more time before walking out the door. Edward locks up the door and turns to me. He grabs my hand and kisses the back of it and winks. I watch as he turns around and climbs in his truck. Sighing sadly, I turn toward my car and climb in. I turn my car on and drive out of the parking lot to head home. I cannot believe I got to meet and spend time talking to Edward Cullen. He is so wonderful and I already feel like an incomplete person when I am not around him. When I was talking to him I felt like I was whole again.


End file.
